


Never Letting Go

by cynical_ravenclaw



Category: My Engineer (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Ram and King are soft bois who deserve all the happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:21:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24089572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cynical_ravenclaw/pseuds/cynical_ravenclaw
Summary: One glance at Ram and King knew something was very, very wrong. There was no way he was going to let him just stand there in that vulnerable condition.
Relationships: King/Ram (My Engineer)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 296





	Never Letting Go

"Cool Boy, what are you doing here!? It's going to rain."

Ram turned to look at the source of the sound, and King gasped. Something was very, very wrong. Ram didn't reply but King had already made up his mind. There was no way he was going to let him just stand there in that vulnerable condition.

"Okay, I'm no fan of dogs, especially not in my home, but you can't stand outside in the rain. Come on up."

King led the way up to his condo, followed by an entourage of a very lost-looking human puppy, and three dogs. As they entered the apartment, King was a tiny bit scared, both for his plant babies and for himself. But one look from Ram and the dogs settled down quietly in the middle of the living area.

Ram put down his backpack on the sofa and something in the side pocket caught King's eye. Was that-?

King was taken aback by the sudden burst of warmth in his chest. It was the Venus Fly Trap that he had gifted Ram! Ram considered it important enough to have brought it along with him!

He turned towards Ram, thinking of asking him if he liked the plant. But the upset look on his face stopped King in his tracks.

First things first, he decided.

King took Ram's hand in his and gave it a tiny squeeze. Tried to reassure him that King was there for him, whatever the matter was. No judgement, no conditions.

"Cool Boy, what's wrong? I'm seeing you frown since you came over to my house with your friends. And you seem to be upset for a long time before that. What happened?"

Ram didn't reply, instead tightened the hold of his hand in King's. King could see his eyes well up with tears that he was trying very hard to not let fall. He looked so lost and devastated that King's heart clenched.

He tugged on the hand he was holding and pulled Ram into a hug. He let go of Ram's hand to gently lower Ram's head on his shoulder while his other hand wrapped around Ram's waist to hold him close. Ram wrapped his own arms around King and buried his face in his neck.

Ram was breathing heavily and seemed very close to breaking into sobs. King gently ran his fingers through Ram's hair as he murmured soft assurances that everything would be okay. He could feel his shirt getting wet with tears but he didn't comment on it, instead continued to card through Ram's hair.

Ram's breathing eased eventually, but neither of them was willing to let go. Neither of them wanted to burst the tiny little bubble of comfort they had made around themselves.

"You can talk to me. If you want, that is. I'll listen."

Ram didn't say anything but held him tighter.

"Is this about what you were trying to say out on the porch? About your dad?"

Ram stiffened for a moment, hesitant, but then relaxed again, and gave a tiny nod.

"Is he okay?"

Ram nodded again. Straightened and looked up so he could see King clearly. One glance and then immediately fixed his gaze below, at their feet, refusing to meet King's eyes.

"My dad... It's actually... He-"

Ram stopped, unable to continue. King put a finger under his chin, and made him look up, at King. He understood that it wasn't a matter of Ram not wanting to tell King what the problem was. He wanted to, but words were failing him. He understood that whatever the problem was, it had obviously had a very large impact on Ram. King understood, and he felt a wave of anger build up in his chest. Anger towards any person, thing, or situation that was responsible for Ram's condition.

"It's okay if you don't say anything right now. We can do this later. Okay?"

"I know. I want to tell you. I trust you."

Ram made that statement and put his head back where it was before, on King's shoulder, trying to find any comfort that he could. As if his declaration hadn't just turned King's stomach, brain and heart into absolute mush. King held Ram tighter, if it was even possible, and resumed moving his fingers through his hair, only this time attempting to ease his own breathing.

King had long been aware that his feelings for Ram weren't exactly platonic. He had tried to understate and deny them by saying he was only interested in Ram because he didn't talk much, he was only constantly around Ram because they were in the same faculty, he was only having dinners with Ram because he helped him with studies and Ram wanted to treat him in return. Somehow, along the way, his feelings grew stronger. Up until the point where he could no longer deny their existence. So King took that messy ball of unnamed emotions and hid it away, pretending it was of no consequence, sure that they were completely unrequited. Because after all, he had gone after Ram, trying to make him talk to him, trying to get closer to him. Ram had barely even settled into their friendship and King, like a complete idiot, had developed feelings for the guy.

The other day, when Ram told him that he was the person who understood Ram, King's brain had shut down. He once prided himself on always having the right thing to say but at that moment, the only thing that came out of his mouth had been an awkward _"Good."_ All those feelings which had been hidden and whose existence had been systematically denied for so long were again brought to the forefront of King's mind again. And now here he was again, saying things that made King dizzy, happy and overwhelmed with a thousand different emotions at the same time.

King's train of thought was interrupted when Ram spoke up, voice muffled by King's shirt.

"The day we had dinner together, when I tried to return your pencil, I saw my dad with another woman."

"Oh."

"I followed his car. They went to a motel down the road."

"I'm sorry, Cool Boy. That must have been awful. Do you think you should tell your mom? Did you talk to him?"

"No, I didn't... I don't know what to do."

Ram's tiny voice and the tension in his shoulders made King want to wage wars and raze civilizations to protect the boy. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the matter at hand.

"It's okay, sweetheart. We'll find a way through this."

The endearment slipped out before he had a chance to stop it and King winced. This was not the time for his feelings to interfere. This was about Ram. He braced himself for Ram to get mad at him. Or to push him away at the very least.

Ram didn't do either of those. Instead, he nuzzled against King's neck and whispered a soft _"Thank you."_

Oh. Maybe King had been wrong and his feelings weren't as unrequited as he thought. But that was a question for some other time.

Somewhere in tonight's events, King felt a previously unnamed emotion finally find a label – love. Pure unconditional love. For Ram. He realised he would gladly go to any lengths to make Ram happy.

Along with this realisation, King came to understand something else too. This had been a long time coming.

For all his constant chattering, King was a private person. He prodded and talked and teased but he respected other people's boundaries, and expected his own boundaries to be respected. But even so, he had brought Ram over to his secret spot. He had told him that he was welcome there any time he felt low. He allowed very few of his friends to come over to his condo but he had brought Ram over having met him barely for a dozen times. And now, even though he was shit scared of dogs, he had let Ram bring his dogs into his house. Because it was Ram. And King trusted him.  
King realised that without knowing it, he had slowly let Ram into his personal space long ago.

He didn't know why. Maybe it was because with Ram, he could just _be_? With Ram, there was no judgement. He let King ramble on about anything and everything, and listened to everything patiently. He didn't even think King was weird because of his obsession with plants. Maybe he did, but he never let King know. He rarely talked to King but he made sure he communicated in some other way whenever necessary. He left King on read, and grabbed his wrist to take him places instead of just telling him where they were going. And King let himself be dragged all over the city.

It was a question how King had never realised what the fluttering of his heart and the heat in his face when he was around Ram were telling him. It was a question how he had never known it but had been in love all along.

Ram's situation was devastating but the pain had brought him to King. He would never wish that pain on anyone else, especially not Ram, but it was that pain that had pushed King into finding out something new about himself.

King didn't know if Ram loved him too. He didn't know if they would even talk about it later. But King knew this without a doubt: if it was up to him, he would never let Ram go, _ever._


End file.
